The Weekly Standard, the conservative magazine produced by Clarity Media Group and ran by the legendary William Kristol, son of Irving Kristol, sadly will stop publishing. The last issue will be released December 17th.

“For more than twenty years The Weekly Standard has provided a valued and important perspective on political, literary and cultural issues of the day,” said Ryan McKibben, President and CEO of Clarity Media. “The magazine has been home to some of the industry’s most dedicated and talented staff and I thank them for their hard work and contributions, not just to the publication, but the field of journalism.”

The Weekly Standard was founded under News Corp and published its first issue on September 18, 1995. Clarity Media Group acquired the publication in 2009.

“The Weekly Standard has been hampered by many of the same challenges that countless other magazines and newspapers across the country have been wrestling with,” said McKibben. “Despite investing significant resources into the publication, the financial performance of the publication over the last five years – with double-digit declines in its subscriber base all but one year since 2013 – made it clear that a decision had to be made. After careful consideration of all possible options for its future, it became clear that this was the step we needed to take.”

Who Is Clarity Media Group?

Well, before we go any further, just who or what is Clarity Media Group? Well, according to the press release “Denver-based Clarity Media Group owns the Washington Examiner magazine, as well as the Colorado Springs Gazette daily newspaper and weekly magazine Colorado Politics.” It also can’t be said to be aware of search engine optimization. (How can Clarity Media Group claim to be effective if its not media tech savvy, even in Colorado? Nothing against Colorado, though.)

In a search for Clarity Media Group, the first result is a website of a “Clarity Media Group” that is a media training organizations. The only reason that’s raised is to introduce the central point that Ryan McKibben himself made: “The Weekly Standard has been hampered by many of the same challenges that countless other magazines and newspapers across the country have been wrestling with”. Yeah, technological change, and if Clarity Media Group doesn’t have a findable website, it’s no wonder The Weekly Standard itself bit the bullet. Understanding of media tech is the necessary element to survival. It seems The Weekly Standard was challenged in that area, as much as it’s owner Clarity Media Group.

Consider that in a World where The Young Turks grew from being a simple YouTube channel to “The Largest Online News Show in the World” with 200 million views, and millions of subscribers, why didn’t The Weekly Standard try that approach?

The The Weekly Standard only tried a YouTube channel in 2015 and with just four videos. Here’s one of them asking if Die Hard was a Christmas movie:

That was the last video they posted. The Weekly Standard YouTube channel could have been its place to meet fans and have livestream events, and all kinds of modern media approaches. But, hindsight is 20-20.